Adam Shadow
Adam Shadow (~20 BBY — ) is a fixture within the Caspian Democratic Union, having served in a number of roles across the Galaxy for the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance, and finally the Union. He has been a fighter pilot, a frigate Captain, a flotilla commander, and a spy. He has designed ships and destroyed ships. He has trained and fought. He bears some extensive scarring from his time spent under Imperial 'Hospitality,' although none of it can be seen on his face or hands, excepting one small diagonal scar on his forhead. He has an easy smile, and a mischevous streak a mile-wide, but is a fierce combatant and competitor. He aggressively defends those he considers to be his friends, and those he is responsible for. And he happily tries to help those in need. Background Growing Up Born the eldest son of a middle class family on Corellia, Adam Shadow grew up with a comfortable, if none too exciting, childhood. His father, following in his grandfather's footsteps, worked at Corellian Engineering Corporation; where he worked on engineering and building the highly modifiable ships that the Corellians are famous for. His mother was a housewife, who spent her time caring for Adam and his two brothers, James and Damion. His family always instilled a sense of duty in him, and that, combined with his Corellian wanderlust, led him to sign up for the Imperial Academy. Imperial Service At the Academy, Adam distinguished himself in a command role. He was unorthodox in his tactics, but got results, particularly in the role of small group tactics command. Graduating from the Academy in the top 10% of his class, he received a posting as Squadron Commander and Flight Director aboard the Nebulon-B Frigate Night Fall. Adam quickly rose through the ranks, being placed on the fast track to command. He was transferred to the Imperial Star Destroyer ''Avenger'' as Lead Flight Director, and then promoted to the rank of Commander, transferred back to his original ship, the Night Fall, as the new Executive Officer (XO). During his time as XO of the Night Fall, Rebel piracy of Imperial convoys began to really pick up. Imperial Fleet Command began increasingly assigning Nebulon-Bs to escort duty for trade convoys, and the Night Fall was one of them. As Night Fall began moving more into the rim territories, Adam began to see what Imperial rule had done to these "backwater" planets. Nevertheless, he continued his stellar performance, even writing up some of the anti-ambush tactics that the Empire began using to combat Rebel lightning raids. He also showed the family flare for starship design when he helped to design and implement the construction of the Imperial Star Galleon with Kuat Drive Yards, in an effort to free up his ship for her primary duties of Star Destroyer escort and pirate hunter. For these efforts, he was promoted to Captain of the Night Fall when her previous Captain was promoted to command of an Imperial Star Destroyer, the Bloodfist. Rebel Defection Being captain of the Night Fall gave Adam a chance to really go with his instincts when it came to small group command. He was given command of a small squadron of capital ships, which included two ''Carrack''-class Light Cruisers, led by the Night Fall. His record as a convoy escort and pirate hunter soared. Adam was having a crisis of conscience, however. Every time he saw another world that was being oppressed by the Empire, every time he saw the supplies he escorted being used only for the benefit of the local governor and his cronies, he felt more and more that he was using his talents for the wrong cause. Finally, he had had enough. He had spent his time as Captain assembling a crew of like-minded individuals; independent thinkers who were willing to work outside of the strict Imperial box when it came to tactics. While this kept him out of the command chairs of Imperial Star Destroyers, it was exactly the kind of attitude necessary for a Captain and crew operating in the Outer Rim territories. Shadow began to quietly put out feelers as to his crew's opinion on defecting to the Rebellion. After garnering support among the crew, and transferring out of the squadron those who did not, he was prepared to defect. The next time that his convoy was jumped by Rebel Starfighters, Adam ordered his Galleons and freighters to jump into hyperspace, but not before remotely disengaging the Galleon's cargo carrier modules. The squadron then surrendered their vessels, and the attendant supply modules, to the Alliance where they were greeted with open arms. Rebel Service After an extensive refit to Night Fall's hangar bays, she was put back into service flying the flag of the Rebel Alliance, under Captain Shadow. He and his two Carracks were considered too good a team to break up, and they were made into a "lightning strike" taskforce, one meant to take on the now more heavily armed Imperial convoys, and even to raid some of the smaller bases. With the Night Fall's fighter complement now made up of sturdier X-wing and Y-wing fighters, the fire power of the now-named Twilight Squadron was very impressive, and Adam used it well. Through his knowledge of Imperial Convoy routes and tactics, Adam was able to provide a fairly consistent source of supplies to the Rebel Alliance. The Night Fall and her small flotilla were assigned to escort the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Liberty at the Battle of Endor. All ships fought valiantly, however when the Liberty was destroyed by the Death Star II's superlaser, the resulting explosion scattered the escorts asunder. Although severely damaged, the Night Fall continued to fight, and even briefly went toe-to-toe with an Imperial Star Destroyer during General Calrissian's improvisation to use the Star Destroyers as shields against the Death Star's superlaser. Night Fall survived the battle; however she was so severely damaged that she promptly went to an Alliance shipyard for an extensive, lengthy repair. Adam was injured in the battle, and although he was still quite young, he decided that it was time to retire for awhile. Arrival at Caspar Idleness did not sit well with Shadow, however. While awaiting his ship's repair, he ran across a communique from Admiral Dergan Roj. Roj, having become consternated with Alliance sloth after the climatic battle, was taking any and all able starships and crews into a new fleet, preparing to embark on a tour of duty along the well-known trade routes. As soon as Night Fall was travel-worthy, Shadow amassed what crew remained, and headed off to catch up with Admiral Roj. Shadow's search brought him to Caspia, where he found Roj's fleet already established and in the midst of shaping a new society. Unfortunately, the Admiral had died of illness a scant two months prior, but after a few detailed discussions with Roj's remaining staff, Shadow was offered a prominent position in the newly formed Admiralty. Needing time to consider it, Shadow was allowed safe harbor at Caspar, and his crew took to shore leave. While on Caspar, he ran into Doron Rtufo, whom he had met over a year prior when his flotilla had spent two weeks in a collaboration with other Alliance Outer Rim forces on a number of quick-strike missions. Rtufo, as a disciple of J U Sescikchat, was training any fighter pilots he encountered with the newest A-Wing tactics. Night Fall had just been, at that time, given a flight of A-Wings, and the pilots were completely green on them. During the course of training Night Fall's pilots, Shadow and Rtufo struck up a fast friendship while discussing unorthodox starfighter tactics over numerous rounds of the bottle. Now on Caspar, Rtufo worked on Adam for a long time, trying to convince him to put his mind for small group tactics to work for Caspia; their defense fleet was small, and the kind of tactics that would be necessary for Caspia in the event of conflict would be right up Adam's alley. So, convinced by his re-found friend and the encouraging support of several of his crew, Adam enrolled his ship into the Caspian Navy. Given his previous expertise, Adam Shadow was immediately assigned to a prominent place in the Navy. He eventually was promoted to the rank of Commander, and was later a Flag Staff officer within the burgeoning fleet, while still commanding his own Night Fall, which had become the fourth Nebulon-B Frigate in the Caspian arsenal. Later, Shadow was approached by CDMC to contribute to design ideas for the new classes of starship the Caspians were aspiring to develop. Again working with Rtufo, who had been assigned as a test pilot for fighter development, they saw the introduction of several new technologies. Imperial Capture and Imprisonment At the opening of 8 ABY, Commander Shadow was cross-enlisted into the Naval Intelligence Office, his ship becoming one of the chief intelligence-gathering tools for a Caspian Crest that was starting to feel the strain of Imperial oppression. Night Fall had been struck from the Naval Order of Battle, and had become a "snoop" ship, plying around the frontier of Caspia and surrounding regions of space for any hints of trouble. Her Imperial ancestry helped her blend in to the intergalactic spacelanes, and allowed her to head to several ports of call, each of which Shadow took full advantage of to record data and rumors. This would continue for three months. At one juncture, though, Shadow's ship arrived at Carida, a place that he had great familiarity with, given that it was the home of an Imperial Academy. This particular visit though, coincided with a visit by an Imperial task force gearing up for the planned forced Annexation of Caspia. Unable to slip away, and under intense scrutiny by any and all Imperial officers he encountered, Shadow was finally detained by an Imperial officer who grew suspicious of how familiar Shadow appeared to Academy staff. After an arduous examination, Shadow was arrested as a spy, his crew incarcerated, and his ship impounded. As he was being processed, the opening salvos of the Battle of the Inner Caspian Worlds were being broadcast on the HoloNet. He spent the entirety of the War in an Imperial detainment, being tortured and interrogated on various aspects of the tactics of the CDU. Enduring six months of imprisonment, he was quietly released back to Caspia as part of a prisoner exchange. To add to the humiliation, the terms of Shadow's release were that he would be released on the planet of Belsavis, with not a possession to his name and only a holovid of his release transmitted to The Crest, all mandated by the Empire. A few days later, in a brief HoloNet discussion with the Presav herself (that Shadow had to arrange considerable resources for), it was decided that Shadow could, and should, take as long as he required to return to Caspia. Shadow toured several star systems during this time, with at least a year spent back on his homeworld of Corellia. Return to Service Now in the waning days of 14 ABY, Adam has finally returned to Caspia. Never one for chosen idleness, he was given the assignment of helping to lead new Naval Aerospace Arm recruits. For this, he was made squadron commander of CNFS-5, known as The Hydras, based off of the fleet carrier [[CMS Typhoon|CMS Typhoon]]. The Hydras have always been considered a frontline Naval Aerospace squadron, and it is expected that most of this new crop of pilots will go on to lead squadrons of their own. Adam Shadow is expected to pass on his expertise and unorthodox tactical style to a group of pilots who will probably always be outnumbered in any conflicts that arise, but are showing great promise towards becoming some of the galaxy’s elite starfighter pilots. Among this outstanding group are three pilots whom the Commander is growing very fond of. These three show outstanding skills in areas beyond flying fighters, and Shadow is keeping a careful eye on them. Shadow has also managed to scrape up enough money to open a bar on Kichnar Orbital Station. Called Cason Hawk's Nest, the bar is fast becoming a popular hangout for pilots and mercenaries who come through the station. One possible reason for this is the array of memorabilia donated to the bar by various individuals who frequent it, as well as an array of squadron emblem banners that hang from the ceiling. Another possibility is the pair of linked simulators found in the bar, that allow patrons to test their skills against each other in a safe way, that also doesn't cost an arm-and-a-leg in ship repairs, or literal injuries. Promotion Brings a New Gig Recently, Shadow was promoted to Captain, and made CAG of the Home Fleet based off of the Typhoon. He was also transferred to command of a new fighter squadron, the CNFS-13 Fates, which is not listed as a front-line combat squadron. The exact mission profile of Fate is unknown, but it does take the CAG off of the Typhoon for interestingly long periods of time. In his absences, his XO, Commander Thomas (TA) Alva takes on flight command and CAG duties. Notes Six Degrees of MUSHiness * Doron Rtufo - Fellow conspirator and fighter pilot * Jamon Grendine - Hydra Squadron member * Asli Nayana - Hydra Squadron member, Venom Flight Leader * R3-K7 - Shadow's Astromech droid, "On permanant loan" from the Empire * Gimel Daleth - A Rodian with a past. * Camrath Kizuka - Sar Admiral under whom Shadow has served for years. Behind the Scenes (OOC) * Adam Shadow first started out way back in 1995, when the MUSH was young. The player, and the player behind Doron Rtufo, developed most of Caspia's current starships of the line, including the H'Cane-class Fleet Carrier and the Sh'water Guided Weapons Cruiser. Their crowning achievement was the creation of the Z-1xx -series of starfighters, as well as the idea for SCREAM technology. * The character is modelled after a character in the original West End Games version of the Star Wars Role-playing game. He rose to Captain of an Imperial Nebulon-B Frigate, the Night Fall, which eventually defected and became flagship of a Rebel Lightning Strike Taskforce. The depicted Night Fall can briefly be seen in ''Return of the Jedi'', getting the business end of a broadside engagement with an Imperial Star Destroyer while the Millenium Falcon and several fighters fly between them. * Adam Shadow, The MUSH Character, has undergone several transformations since he started. Originally a Caspian Capital Ships officer during his first rotation in 1995-1997, Adam dropped out of the game for a couple of years, due to Real Life interference. He eventually came back in 1999 as a member of Caspar's Naval Intelligence Office, working through and with all branches of the Caspian Military Service, under direct command of Presav Avalyshaar Dusten. Again Real Life intervened, and Adam dropped off of the radar. In 2003, and again in 2006 Adam came back for his third & fourth stints with Caspia, as a Commander in the Caspian Navy, this time with the fighter pilots instead of with the bridge crew. He is currently squadron commander for CNFS-13, Fate Squadron, which is based off of the H'Cane class carrier, CMS Typhoon, where Captain Shadow also serves as CAG. * He has a patent pending for the B.A.B., and its decendent, the BAB6K. * The destruction-by-BAB of the Imperial Join Machine in 1995 is rumored to be attributed to Shadow and Rtufo. ---- Shadow, Adam Shadow, Adam Shadow, Adam